Dangerous I-95, S.r. 84 Ramp Gets Safeguard

November 21, 2004|By Michael Turnbell Transportation Writer

Drivers who barrel through one of Broward County's most treacherous interchanges will now be confronted by speed-triggered warning lights, a safety system being tested for the first time on a United States highway.

State safety experts say they have tried just about everything to slow drivers exiting southbound Interstate 95 to go west on State Road 84 in Fort Lauderdale.

The half-mile long ramp takes a sharp 90-degree turn where it merges onto S.R. 84 and has proved to be trouble for drivers ever since the $35 million interchange opened in 1990. Crashes have been common, and three people died during a three-year study of accidents on the ramp in the late 1990s.

Now, nearly 15 years after the interchange opened, the Florida Department of Transportation is spending $120,000 to embed 50 lights in the ramp that will be activated if drivers go too fast. The lights will shine, day or night, when motorists exceed 45 mph after crossing a series of sensors buried in the pavement at the start of the ramp.

The two-year experiment, which has the blessing of the Federal Highway Administration, is the first of its kind in the country. While embedded sensors and lights have been used in crosswalks, they have never been used on a highway or offramp, said Gilbert Soles, the DOT's traffic safety program manager.

"We've tried different types of signing on the ramp to get drivers' attention of the situation on that long, flat ramp and nothing has worked," Soles said.

Crews installed the lights this week and planned to have them activated this weekend.

A speed study shows that 85 percent of the drivers on the ramp are moving between 50 and 60 mph.

Soles said the length of the ramp is deceiving and allows drivers to continue driving at highway speed.

Michael Turnbell can be reached at mturnbell@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4155.